At the request of 6th Judicial District Attorney General Charme Allen, TBI special agents are investigating the circumstances leading to a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred Friday night in Knox County.

Just after 9:30 p.m., deputies with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office initiated a traffic stop near Strawberry Plains Pike and John Sevier Highway after observing a vehicle speeding and failing to maintain its lane of travel. The driver, later identified as Andrew Seth Henderlight (DOB: 03/19/87), refused to stop and led deputies on a pursuit. The pursuit ended when Henderlight pulled over in the 7800 block of Kodak Road in Knoxville. For reasons still under investigation, the situation escalated, resulting in three deputies firing shots, striking Henderlight. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No deputies were injured during the incident.

TBI agents are working to independently determine the series of events leading to the shooting, including collecting evidence and conducting interviews. Throughout the process, investigative findings will be shared with the District Attorney General for her further review and consideration. The TBI acts solely as fact-finders in its cases and does not determine whether the actions of an officer were justified in these types of matters. That decision rests with the District Attorney General requesting TBI’s involvement. 

The TBI does not identify the officers involved in these types of incidents and instead refers questions of that nature to the respective department to answer as it sees fit.

Any available updates on this investigation will be posted online at TBINewsroom.com.